--- Karl Signell <signell@cpcug.org> wrote:
> But for a shakuhachi student, to
> paraphrase Bill
> Clinton, it all depends on the meaning of "tsu-meri"
> (and the meaning
> of "ro," since the interval between those two tones
> is what a student
> is really interested in).
Hi Karl
Firstly may I appologise for not explaining more about
what I presented. Actually I drew up that table for a
tuning email group. So, I translated all of the
results as if the pieces had been played on a 1.8
shakuhachi, which of course they were not. So when it
says D just read RO, and so on.
> Is this an abstract intellectual exercise? Or will
> it lead to a
> shakuhachi student adjusting his tsu-meri with an
> electronic tuning device?
For me this is not abstract but is part of a journey
of exploration into the scales and tunings of Japanese
music. Part of the reason is that I want to get into
shakuhachi making. And so I must decide how to tune
shakuhachi. Of course for that, we only tune the open
holes. But, this brings the question - do we use the
western 12ET temperament to tune the open holes?
But more than that, it is about the playing. I am
curious. It is possible, for example, that certain
subtleties could become lost from our (shakuhachi)
music in a 12ET world. The equal temperament has
already surely had an effect in Japan inself upon the
traditions.
And as for playing into a tuner, well, that's not for
me at least! Though it was reasuring when I analysed a
recording of myself playing honkyoku that I'd made a
some time ago, and sure enough ro kan to tsu-meri was
76cents. But really, maybe it is useful for some
students to know that the pitches ARE different from
12ET.
> The results above seem to suggest a constant,
> unvarying pitch
> throughout the duration of the tone, like a piano or
> a
> synthesizer.
I have tried to explain this is a reply I just sent,
so that might clear that up. Basically, I get the
feeling that even though we are bending all over the
place, we are utilizing a scale. The pitches are in my
opinion neather 12ET nor random, and so I am enquiring
into what they really are. That is not to say that
they may only be ONE thing, but whether there may be
several choices or whatever, I find it worth a bit of
looking into.
>
> Analyzing one tsu-meri/ro interval in a Yokoyama
> recording, I found a
> variable use of pitch as an expressive element.
Definitely. I totally agree.
> The lesson I take from Yokoyama is that I should
> discard my Western
> preconceptions and listen more carefully to pitch
> variations in
> shakuhachi performances.
I think I'm doing this, but also with the aid of quite
precise measurements. One shakuhachi player was once
surprised when I said I had been taught tsu-meri as
slightly flatter than it's western equivalent. That
may have perhaps been due to his presumtion that the
notes are all the same as in 12ET. I think I may be
dropping at least some preconceptions by actually
measuring the pitches to find out what they really are
(at least in the performances I am analysing).
> And variations in tone
> color, in dynamics, etc.
Of course very important. To explore these though I
prefer to play (and listen).
Best wishes
Justin
>
> Karl
>
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